I studied in modern times

Chapter 793 Zhao Xu: No Profit Is Loss
Zhao Xu took out the list sent by Guo Zhongxiao, looked at it, and then asked, "The newly appointed Attendant Zhang Wen in the capital..."

"Who is this man?"

This is indeed Zhao Xu's blind spot in knowledge.

Totally unfamiliar!

However, Lu Gongzhu gave him a very high evaluation in his notes - There are less than ten people in the world who understand the economics of a country, and I hope I can be one of them!

Lu Gongzhu would not easily evaluate a person like this.

But the problem is that Zhao Xu had never heard of such a minister in his previous life!
Wang Zishao has done his homework - people who are good at upward management are all detail freaks.

Therefore, he just recalled a little and said: "Report to your Majesty, the newly appointed Minister Wen recommended by the capital hall is actually an old minister!"

"How old is this minister this year?" Zhao Xu became curious.

"Seventy-five!"

Zhao Xu's eyebrows jumped. A minister of such an old age? !

What is Lu Gongzhu doing?
You know, Zhao Xu has been pushing for the improvement and perfection of the ministers' retirement system.

At present, except for some exceptions and special circumstances.

In all prefectures and counties across the country, those civil and military officials who are over 70 years old and still occupying their posts are being largely optimized.

Zhao Xu would rather spend more money to give these people more retirement benefits.

We must also resolutely clear them out!

To this end, Zhao Xu set a special benchmark in the edict of promoting favors to meritorious officials in the first month of this year - posthumously conferring the title of Prince of Fengxiang on Wang Yanchao, and posthumously granting him the titles of Taifu and Shangshu Ling. At the same time, he ordered the Ministry of Rites to select two people from among Wang Yanchao's direct descendants and grant them temporary positions in the third class.

The reasons are besides the old saying "I admire the meritorious officials of my ancestors".

The key point is that the former Prince of Fengxiang had a deep understanding of justice, was loyal to the country, and was a pioneer in the founding dynasty in retiring at the age of seventy. I highly commend him.

Zhao Xu had made it clear. Logically speaking, it was impossible for anyone to risk being convicted and push a 75-year-old minister into the court, and to a crucial position as Jieshi Zhong.

In other words, Zhao Xu has always had a good patience, otherwise, if it were another emperor, he would probably be cursing at this moment.

He listened calmly as Wang Zishao introduced the resume of this minister who was highly respected by Lu Gongzhu.

"I ask, you are a graduate of the Excellent Talent Examination in the second year of Kangding in the Ren Temple..."

Zhao Xu raised his eyebrows.

System science!
In the 150 years since the Song Dynasty began, if Zhao Xu remembered correctly, only about 18 imperial examinations had been held.

The number of people who pass each system examination is always in the single digits, and most of the time there is only one qualified person.

The total number of people who have passed the imperial examinations in the past one hundred and fifty years would not exceed thirty.

Among them, the current veteran and governor of Zhangde Army, Zhang Fangping, occupies two places alone.

He successively passed the examinations for outstanding talents and for virtuous, upright and outspoken people.

Therefore, the value of the imperial examination system in the Song Dynasty is unquestionable!
The fact that Zhang Wen was able to make it out of the system says a lot in itself.

The second year of Kangding was about forty-five years ago.

In other words, he passed the imperial examination at the age of 30!

At that time, he should have been an absolute future rising star and a candidate for prime minister.

and so……

How come he has played around so much and still hasn't reached the level of a candidate for official position at the age of 75?

You know, in Zhao Xu's impression, basically all the imperial examination candidates, as long as they don't die young, will at least be in the top four!

Wang Zishao continued to introduce: "Afterwards, he was appointed as the Tongpan of Daming Prefecture. Because of his achievements in government, he was promoted to the Supervisor of Hebei Prisons and then the Transport Commissioner of Jianghuai East Road..."

When Zhao Xu heard this, he interrupted Wang Zishao: "Don't talk about your resume..."

"Tell me about this person!"

Wang Zishao raised his head and looked at Zhao Xu inside the curtain.

Zhao Xu looked at him and understood that this Yanei Zuan had one thing in common with those excellent upward management people he had met in modern times - they all liked to play dumb in front of their superiors.

At least pretend to be dull.

This is how they show themselves to be harmless.

At the same time, it also pleases the people above you.

Therefore, Zhao Xu asked directly: "Where did this minister come from? What are his ideas? What has he done?"

Wang Zishao immediately said: "Yes!"

He began to give Zhao Xu a detailed introduction based on his knowledge and understanding: "Your Majesty, as far as I know, I am originally from Xiangzhou in Jinghu North Road, but I started my career in Yanzhou. I once served as a clerk in the government of Zhong Gong, the former military commander of Chengzhou... Zhong Gong loved me, and Zhong Gong once gave me ten hectares of land in Ruzhou as a thank you. I firmly refused, and since then I have been praised by the scholars as a virtuous person!"

Zhao Xu listened and narrowed his eyes.

In the Song Dynasty, there were numerous factions among civil officials and literati, and these people jumped back and forth repeatedly. Almost no one would stay in a certain faction for a long time or support a certain proposition.

A typical example is the debate between the Huihe faction and the anti-Huihe faction.

Many members of this great debate have changed their positions more than once.

The latest situation is that the faction that opposed returning to the river won a great victory.

Because Zhao Xu didn't want to go back to the river.

As a result, people inside and outside the government were saying that diverting the river would be a waste of money and manpower and might not be effective.

But there is one thing that most scholars cannot change.

That is the background color given to them by their origins and backgrounds.

The so-called origin and family background are concepts that only appeared in the Song Dynasty.

This is a byproduct of the system of itinerant officials under the imperial examination system.

As the name suggests, starting point refers to the place where one first enters the officialdom, while origin refers to the way one enters the officialdom.

These things will follow an official throughout his life and become the entry threshold to certain circles.

Like Zhang Wen, he was a Jinshi in the imperial examination.

This is the highest point of the contempt chain!

A man of letters who looks down upon and despises all other paths of origin.

The place where Zhang Wen started his career was Yanzhou in the northwest.

This is the background of the Western Army!
and……

So he was given the title of Zhong Gong, the commander of the militia in Chengzhou?
Zhao Xu asked, "But is it the one who is called Shiheng?"

"Your Majesty, the Holy Ming Wu Guo!"

Zhao Xu rubbed his hands.

This is Zhong Shiheng’s document on the secrets of the shogunate!
As the founder of the Zong Family Army, the Zong Family Generals are one of the largest factions in the Western Army!

The only family that can compare with them is the Zhe family in Fuzhou.

Seeing that Zhao Xu seemed very interested in this, Wang Zishao immediately said: "Your Majesty, as far as I know, you bestowed titles on the sons of the Chengzhou Tuanlianshi. Gu, Yi and others still respect me as sons and nephews..."

"Oh!" Zhao Xu nodded.

He knew in his heart that Zhang Wen was probably the Zhong family's spokesperson and ally in the court.

and so……

Is this the reason why he has wasted time until now and has not been promoted to the position of Daizhi?

Because it was taboo?

Zhao Xu immediately denied this speculation in his heart.

Because, among the literati of the Song Dynasty, there were stupid ones, bad ones, and even those who were both stupid and bad.

However, the class stance and class consciousness of these people cannot be criticized.

Even the small Southern Song Dynasty court reached its wits' end.

There were still thousands of scholars and officials who were willing to jump into the sea with the little emperor.

You know, they are facing an unbridled appeasement from Yuan!
As long as you surrender, you can enjoy various privileges.

However, even such a small court, which was already at the end of its rope, could make thousands of scholars and officials willingly jump into the sea and die for their country.

What’s more, they are the literati and officials of the Song Dynasty today?
Therefore, Zhang Wen might have connections with the Zhong family and speak for them, but he would never put himself in the Zhong family's shoes, let alone do something taboo.

Zhao Xu looked at Wang Zishao and said, "Go on..."

"promise……"

"I served in the government of Lord Zhong for several years. Later, in the first year of Jingyou, I passed the examination in the Suoting Hall and entered the imperial examination in Beijing. I was awarded the title of Jinshi in the Jiaxu year..."

"After passing the imperial examination, I was initially appointed as the Tongpan of Daming Prefecture..."

"It was during my tenure in Daming Prefecture that my reputation as a wise minister began to emerge... Renmiao once praised me: "If you are as diligent as Wen, why should you worry about the insecurity of your children?"

Zhao Xu listened and asked, "Why is the Temple of Benevolence praised?"

Wang Zishao was stunned for a moment, then replied: "Your Majesty, I don't know the details because it happened so long ago. I only know that it seems to be related to the dispute between the Herdsmen Department and the gentry and people of Daming Prefecture..."

Zhao Xu narrowed his eyes.

The Herdsman Department?

There is an old saying in Bianjing: The three shifts eat incense, and the herdsmen eat dung. From this proverb, you can know that the herdsmen in the past were a group of insects.

These guys will not let go of any copper coin that passes by them.

Even the cow dung and horse dung from local pastoral supervisors would be picked up by them and used as their own expenses for food, drink and entertainment.

Before it was abolished, the Qunmusi was controlled by the yamen officials and eunuchs for a long time.

So, this Zhang Wen once defeated those insects from the Herdsman Bureau?
However, at that time he was most likely just a Beijing official!
The Beijing official fought against the Yanei and the eunuchs of the Qunmusi?
What a fairy tale this is!

Zhao Xu's first instinctive reaction was disbelief.

Doesn’t he know what the Song Dynasty is like?
Even now it is just normal.

For example, who among the scholars and officials in the outer court would dare to touch the accounts of shops and houses?
Not to mention the small officials in Beijing, even if they are court officials, if they get into trouble today, they will have to pack their bags and go to Lingnan to eat lychees tomorrow.

But soon, Zhao Xu noticed the key point in Wang Zishao's words—the gentry and common people of Daming Prefecture were competing with the Herdsmen Bureau for profit?

Gentry and common people?

Zhao Xu smiled. He knew that this was a standard narrative of the literati.

When there is trouble, they are the gentry and common people. When there is nothing wrong, how can the common people dare to offend us, the literati and officials?

Since the Xining Reforms, similar narratives have emerged one after another.

So, Zhang Wen was just a thug who was pushed to the front to act against the Herdsmen Division?

Standing behind him should be the local gentry of Daming Prefecture.

Considering what Ren Miao said - if you ask carefully, why should you worry about the innocence of your children?
Is there a contradiction between the central government and local governments?
This is interesting.

As we all know, in the Song Dynasty, whenever there was a conflict between the central government and local governments, the central government would usually control the local governments.

For example, the six routes in the southeast have been carrying the burden for the people of Bianliang for a long time!
But Daming Prefecture defeated Bianliang back then.

Even the Ren Temple publicly praised Zhang Wen, who was pushed to the front.

Therefore, this can probably only mean one thing - a fight between gods!
Thinking of this, Zhao Xu asked Wang Zishao to continue the introduction.

"I asked that after my term in Daming Prefecture expires, I will be transferred to Hebei Province to serve as the Chief Justice..."

This confirms Zhao Xu's guess.

Jumping directly from a Beijing official to a supervisory officer, even if it is most likely just a temporary assignment, it is also considered an ascension.

In the officialdom of the Song Dynasty during the Renmiao era, the phenomenon of seniority-based promotion was extremely serious.

It is almost comparable to the seniority system in modern Japanese companies.

Unless there are special circumstances, all officials can only follow the inspection and proceed step by step.

From a prefect of a state, he was promoted to a supervisor.

This can only be the work of the gods behind the scenes.

So, who was the immortal who was entrenched in Daming Prefecture in the Song Dynasty?
Then limit this time to before and after the Jingyou period of Ren Temple.

The answer is obvious.

It can only be those whose family is in Daming Prefecture, so the Grand Tutor of the Song Dynasty, the Duke of Wei, the Minister of the Central Secretariat, Wang Dan and Wang Wenzhen!

That's right!

Wang Dan had already passed away by then.

But Wang Dan's political influence lasted for a long time.

Even now, the influence of the Wang family of Shen County in Daming Prefecture is only second to that of the Han family of Xiangzhou!
As for that time?

I can only say that he is a true immortal in Daming Prefecture!
Because the prime minister at that time was Lu Yijian, who was promoted by Wang Dan in the previous year!

At the same time, although the Lu family is not in Daming Prefecture, Lu Yijian's influence in Daming Prefecture is unquestionable.

The upgrading of Daming Prefecture to Beijing was promoted and implemented by Lu Yijian.

In addition, most of Lu Yijian's daughters and nieces were also married in Daming Prefecture.

In particular, his eldest daughter married Wang Yong, the son of Wang Dan.

so……

There is a reason why Zhang Wen was able to defeat the insects of the Pastoral Department back then.

Wang Zishao's voice continued to ring in Zhao Xu's ears.

"When I was in Hebei, the river burst. The court wanted to build a dike at Xiaowu to divert the river. I, Wen Jian, thought it was not possible, thinking that Xiaowu and Caocun were straight from north to south. If Xiaowu was built, the left side would be strong and the right side would be damaged..."

Zhao Xu listened and his lips moved.

Of course he knew the outcome of Xiao Wu’s dam construction - a breach!
From then on, this section of the river became a wound to the Song Dynasty.

The dikes kept bursting and collapsing, causing constant dangerous situations.

In the eighth year of Yuanfeng, not long after Zhao Xu ascended the throne, the dam was in danger again.

Fortunately, Han Wei, the judge of Daming Prefecture at that time, was quite attentive.

It was also thanks to Zhao Xu that he sent a large number of imperial troops, led by Song Yongchen and Miao Shou, to provide disaster relief.

In the end, it was only by relying on the power of money that they were able to hold on to Xiaozhangkou, preventing the flood from destroying Xiaozhangkou and then rushing towards Xiaowukou, turning the entire Hebei province into an ocean again.

The source of all these disasters was the Huihe faction’s bizarre plan to build a dike at Xiaowukou.

A typical man-made disaster!

Trying to make the Yellow River talk politics.

However, Huang He said - I don’t understand!
But at that time, the Huihe faction was the most powerful force in the court.

But Zhang Wen chose to oppose at that time.

There is no doubt that this requires courage!
Because most political creatures will not reuse the person who pointed out his mistakes just because the person pointed out his mistakes and he suffered failure because of his mistakes.

Most political creatures would just think - why are you going against me?

So, this damn retrograde was arrested and criticized repeatedly.

"Afterwards, the river burst at Xiaowu... so the transport commissioner of Huainan East Road was transferred..."

Hmm...it turns out that he is someone from the Lu family!
The only one who could save the person and promote him at this time was Lu Yijian.

"Upon the throne of the late emperor, he was appointed to the Jixian Academy, and then transferred to Hebei Transport Commissioner..."

"During the Xining period, the proposal to reconnect the river was made again. It was planned to use 300,000 soldiers and civilians to build a dike from Chanzhou to the north... When asked about it, the emperor wrote to him and said that it was not possible..."

It’s going backwards again!
And the result is, of course, very clear.

In the tenth year of Xining, the Yellow River broke through again in Chanzhou, forming two rivers that rushed towards Xuzhou.

So, Su Shi became furious and began to talk nonsense - You have limited talents, but you are starting a project that is bound to fail, and you are driving away innocent people and putting them in a situation where they are bound to die!

It seems like he is criticizing Wang Anshi, but even a fool knows who he is being sarcastic about.

This laid the seeds for the later Wutai Poetry Case.

The fate of another person who went against the flow, Zhang Wen, was certainly not much better.

"In the second year of Yuanfeng, the Minister of the Central Secretariat, Anli, recommended me to the previous emperor as someone who could be in charge of the six ministries. The previous emperor thought that I was not suitable to be an important official of the country... so he was transferred to Luzhou, Ruzhou, etc. In the eighth year of Yuanfeng, he was transferred to Heyang Prefecture..."

As Zhao Xu listened, he had almost formed a picture of this man in his mind.

An old minister who is capable but has a stubborn temper and particularly likes to go against the tide!

At the same time, he should have a very close relationship with the Lu family.

At the same time, there is a close connection with the seed family.

Maybe it's related to Han Qi as well.

After all, the original wife of Lu Gongzhu's brother Lu Gongbi was Han Qi's daughter.

So Zhao Xu asked, "Have you ever met this minister?"

Wang Zishao replied: "Your Majesty, I have never paid a visit to you..."

"I just heard that your servant Wen Lianjie has been living in the Chaoji Courtyard since returning to the capital..."

"Left Prime Minister Lu Gong asked him to move to Lu's mansion many times, but he always declined..."

Zhao Xu listened, nodded, and then began to think in his mind.

He could now almost guess what Lu Gongzhu was thinking - perhaps he wanted this old man to have a good ending in his twilight years.

At least, leave a trace in history books.

Of course Zhao Xu had to give face to Lu Gongzhu.

only……

"How can I use this incident to advance my agenda?" Zhao Xu thought.

Modern study abroad life has completely changed him.

He has been infected with too many characteristics of modern people.

One of them is – not making a profit equals a loss!
Make the best use of things and people.

All available resources and conditions must be utilized.

Because he really needs these things to complete the original accumulation and to push the country in the direction he wants.

(End of this chapter)